Department for Transport

*No heading*

lord patten: Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the likely date for the doubling of the single-track railway between Tisbury, Wiltshire, and Wilton Junction, Salisbury.

lord callanan: Network Rail have evaluated this scheme and have not identified it as a priority. The Department for Transport intends to set out the outcomes we want from the rail network in Control Period 6 (CP6 – 2019 to 2024) during the remainder of 2017, starting with the High Level Output Specification (HLOS), which is expected to be published in July.

*No heading*

lord patten: Her Majesty's Government when they expect class 158 and 159 trains running between Waterloo and Exeter to be replaced.

lord callanan: These trains are expected to be operating on this route until at least the end of the new South Western Franchise, which will expire in August 2024. This rolling stock will however be subject to a programme of refurbishment that will include new seats, power sockets and toilets. Beyond that, it will be a matter for bidders for the following Franchise.

*No heading*

baroness randerson: Her Majesty's Government when the Secretary of State for Transport last met representatives of Airbus.

lord callanan: The Secretary of State last met representatives of Airbus on 2nd October 2016.

*No heading*

lord balfe: Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to obviate danger to civil aircraft posted by remotely piloted aircraft as required by the International Civil Aviation Organization as communicated to contracting states in letter AN13/55-17/38.

lord callanan: The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of partners, including the British Airline Pilots' Association and the Police, to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up to date. Work is underway to better understand the risk posed by drones to commercial aircraft and ensure that the regulatory and industry responses remain fit for purpose. The Government has conducted a consultation to determine if further measures are needed in this area and will be responding to this soon with its intended future actions. We have also been working closely with the CAA and industry to adapt and strengthen existing measures and mitigations as drone use and the related technology evolves. This has led to a safety awareness and education campaign aimed at leisure drone users, the launch of a new www.dronesafe.uk website, and a free new app ‘Drone Assist’ by NATS, which shows users where they should and should not fly in their locality.

*No heading*

lord berkeley: Her Majesty's Government whether HS2, or East West Rail, will pay for the bridge and associated works needed for those two lines to cross each other.

lord callanan: HS2 Ltd will pay for, and deliver the bridge and associated works needed for East West Rail to cross over HS2 at Calvert.

*No heading*

lord berkeley: Her Majesty's Government what clearance to structure gauge of classic lines has been allowed for HS2 bridges over such lines.

lord callanan: The Minimum Headroom from network rail (NR) track to the underside of any HS2 bridge structure is 5100mm – as per NR Standard NR/L2/TRK/2049.

*No heading*

lord berkeley: Her Majesty's Government what is their response toOpinion ERA/OPI/2015-10 of the European Union Agency for Railways for the European Commission, regarding the request for Revised Opinion (ERA/OPI/2015-4 of 15 April 2015) concerning heights in the case of the HS2 Project in the UK; and whether the design of HS2 will comply with this Opinion.

lord callanan: We are aware that European Railway Agency (ERA) have published their opinion on the request for a Revised Opinion (ERA/OPI/2015-4 of 15 April 2015) concerning platform heights in the case of the HS2 Project in the UK. The UK Government’s position remains unaltered; one of the aims of the project is to provide step-free access to HS2 trains ‘from street to seat’. We are continuing to work with the Commission to ensure we have the appropriate technical solutions in place to deliver this aim.

*No heading*

lord steel of aikwood: Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on consumers of the cost of domestic flights on routes on which airlines have a monopoly or near monopoly; and whether they intend to investigate commercial practices whereby administrative charges are imposed on consumers who wish to change their flight details after having purchased fully flexible tickets.

lord callanan: The Government is not able to get involved in regulating the level of fares set by airlines operating in the UK, or abroad. Since the inception of the Single European Aviation market, any EU airline may establish the fare structure it wishes. The Government has made no assessment on the impact of the costs of domestic flights, but has focused on ensuring connectivity to the regions. However, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has started work on unfair contract terms with the airlines, in accordance with the CAA’s Strategic Plan 2016-2021. The work will include a review of the airlines’ terms and conditions with the aim of ensuring the rights and obligations of the consumers and businesses are fair and balanced and consumers are not being penalised by unfair contract terms.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

*No heading*

lord mendelsohn: Her Majesty's Government how many businesses have (1) requested access to, (2) been issued an invitation from, and (3) submitted reports to, the new online service for reporting business payment practices and performance established under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017 No 395.

lord prior of brampton: So far, over 150 businesses have requested access and have been issued an invitation to the payment practices reporting online service. Businesses are able to receive an invitation by emailing a request to [emailprotected]/*  */!function(t,e,r,n,c,a,p){try{t=document.currentScript||function(){for(t=document.getElementsByTagName('script'),e=t.length;e--;)if(t[e].getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t.previousSibling)){p=t.parentNode;if(a=c.getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e='',r='0x'+a.substr(0,2)|0,n=2;a.length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a.substr(n,2)^r).toString(16)).slice(-2);p.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)),c)}p.removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/*  */. Businesses in scope of the requirement must publish payment practices and performance information for their financial year starting on or after 6 April 2017. As of June 2017, no reports have been published, as businesses will start mandatory reporting from October 2017, depending on their financial year dates.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Fracking: Lancashire

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of video evidence of the killing of a wounded Palestinian in Hebron, what discussions they have had with EU partners concerning the accused soldier’s charge being reduced to manslaughter.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has been briefed by Lancashire Police on that force’s strategy for meeting its duty to both facilitate and protect rights to freedom of assembly.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has been briefed by Lancashire Police on the action which that force intends to take after the anti-fracking protests at Preston New Road have ended.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has produced any briefings on the anti-fracking protests at Preston New Road; and if so, whether they will publish those briefings.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has been briefed by Lancashire Police on that force’s strategy for meeting its duty to both facilitate and protect rights to freedom of assembly.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has been briefed by Lancashire Police on the action which that force intends to take after the anti-fracking protests at Preston New Road have ended.

baroness williams of trafford: The management of protests, including anti-fracking protests, is an operational and independent matter for the police. The Home Office has not issued any guidance or briefings to the police on this matter.As lead Government Department for the national risk of public disorder, the Home Office routinely receives briefings from police forces on related issues.

*No heading*

lord hylton: Her Majesty's Government when they last reviewed their travel advice for (1) Tunisia, and (2) Lebanon; and when they next plan to reviewthat advice.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: As with other countries, we keep our travel advice for Tunisia and Lebanon under close and constant review. The travel advice for Tunisia was last updated on 14 June 2017 and for Lebanon on 2 May 2017.

*No heading*

lord alton of liverpool: Her Majesty's Government whether they are considering opening a commercial section in the UK embassy in Khartoum; and, if so, what account they will take of (1) the World Bank’s assessment of Sudan as a suitable place to undertake business, (2) the Khartoum regime’s conduct toward their ethnic and religious minorities, and (3) the bombardment of civilians in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur and the Blue Nile and South Kordofan region.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Department of International Trade does not have any staff posted to the British Embassy Khartoum and there are no plans to redeploy resources at this time. Whilst there is no commercial section at the British Embassy in Khartoum, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development teams in country are working with Sudan on improvements to the regulatory and business environment to strengthen longer term stability. Sudan remains a challenging country in which to do business. We continue to express our concerns about the human rights situation with the Sudanese authorities.

Department for International Development

*No heading*

lord stevens of ludgate: Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the target set in the Sustainable Economic Development Plan 2012–13 to 2021–22 for St. Helena of 600 tourists per week, what steps they are taking to assist inward investment in the development of new hotel accommodation.

lord bates: DFID continues to provide funding to Enterprise St Helena (ESH), the island’s economic development agency, to promote and assist further investment in accommodation and other tourism services. The St Helena Government is confident that once weekly flights begin there will be sufficient accommodation for the anticipated number of visitors. Also that once a regular commercial air service between St Helena and the mainland is established, there will be further private sector investment in this regard.

*No heading*

lord alton of liverpool: Her Majesty's Government what action the Department for International Development (DfID) is taking to promote Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which promulgates freedom of religion and belief; how that action relates to (1) Sustainable Development Goal 16, and (2) DfID’s UK aid strategy objectives, and to the allocation of resources; and what steps they are taking to ensure that DfID's partners and projects do not discriminate on religious grounds.

lord bates: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) leads the government’s work to promote and protect the right to freedom of religion or belief internationally. DFID works closely with FCO, helping to raise concerns about discriminatory legislation and practices with governments, and funding targeted project work. We are clear that promoting freedom of religion or belief is an important contributor to achieving the UK Aid Strategy’s goals and is directly relevant to Sustainable Development Goal 16 on building peaceful and inclusive societies with access to justice for all and effective, accountable and inclusive institutions. DFID’s Partnership Principles include consideration of freedom of religion or belief alongside other human rights.

*No heading*

lord jones of cheltenham: Her Majesty's Government what programmes for capital expenditure are in place to assist St Helena to bring the Island’s infrastructure to a standard which is in line with the anticipated tourism based economic development following the introduction of air services to St Helena, including (1) improved methods for road construction, (2) the development of Rupert’s Valley Wharf container handling facilities warehousing, (3) improved telecommunications links, and (4) expansion of the fishing industry.

lord bates: There are two DFID programmes in St Helena which provide capital funding to improve the Island’s infrastructure: i) the St Helena Airport Project and ii) the Core Support to St Helena Capital Programme. These programmes have provided funding to upgrade the road network, for the development of Rupert’s Valley Wharf container handling facilities and support to the fishing industry. In addition DFID has funded some feasibility work related to improved telecommunications.

*No heading*

lord jones: Her Majesty's Government how much it has cost to repair storm damage to Calshot Harbour on Tristan da Cunha from 1987 to date.

lord bates: DFID invested £16.1m to maintain and repair Calshot Harbour in Tristan da Cunha between 2000 and 2016. Financial information prior to 2000 is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.

*No heading*

lord jones: Her Majesty's Government what investigations are taking place with a view to reviewing the effects of the suspended aquifers on the lives of residents on Tristan da Cunha.

lord bates: The Tristan da Cunha Administration is undertaking investigations of the suspended aquifers and the possible impact on the Tristan community. It is considering whether external technical assistance is necessary to assess the situation further. The Administration does not believe there is presently a threat to the Tristan residents.

Department for Education

*No heading*

lord pearson of rannoch: Her Majesty's Government how many Muslim schools, including madrassas, there are in England; how they monitor teaching in those schools; and whether they intend to legislate to require all teaching in such schools to be conductedin English.

lord nash: In England there are 27 publicly-funded schools (i.e. local authority maintained schools and academies, including free schools) having a designated religious character as Muslim; and 148 independent schools registered as having a religious ethos of Muslim or Islam, or having a designated religious character of Muslim or Islam (or both).  The Department for Education does not regulate madrassahs or other out-of-school education settings and does not hold a complete record their numbers.The quality of teaching in Muslim schools in England is inspected by Ofsted or one of the independent inspectorates approved by the Secretary of State.All publicly funded schools must teach English to pupils up to the age of 16. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching in the vast majority of circumstances. The statutory independent school standards require that pupils acquire speaking, listening, literacy and numeracy skills. While independent schools are not required to teach in the medium of English, the standards require that where they do not, lessons in written and spoken English are provided.The Department has no plans to legislate further to require schools to teach in the medium of English. The Department launched a call for evidence setting out proposals for a new system for regulating out-of-school education settings providing intensive education, but this did not suggest that they should be required to teach in English.

*No heading*

baroness coussins: Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of (1) the contribution of the Erasmus Plus programme to the supply chain of modern foreign language (MFL) teachers, and (2)the impact on the future supply chain of MFL teachers if the UK withdraws from the Erasmus Plus programme as a consequence of leaving the EU

lord nash: We have no data on numbers of Erasmus+ participants who go on to be modern foreign language (MFL) teachers. At a national level we are retaining and recruiting the teachers we need. We recognise, however, that the situation is challenging in certain subjects including MFL. Therefore we are offering up to £25,000 for MFL bursaries andhave expanded the prestigious scholarship scheme for 2017/18 entry by introducing scholarships in MFL. We are funding subject specialism training in languages for non-specialist teachers who already have some language expertise, and for former language teachers returning to the subject. We have reviewed our approach on returners and developed a package of tailored classroom experience which seeks to increase the number of MFL returners and which will be piloted in the north-west and south-east. This will further complement the wider national package of advisor support available to returning MFL teachers. We recognise the value of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, as part of our vision for the UK as a global nation. There may be European programmes – such as Erasmus+ – in which we might want to participate. We will consider this as part of the Brexit negotiation.

Department for Work and Pensions

*No heading*

baroness meacher: Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to match the ten-day target for the administration of Social Fund Funeral Payments pledged by the Scottish Government; and, if not, what plans they have to enable bereaved families to bury their relatives in the absence of any estate from which to draw funds to cover funeral costs.

baroness buscombe: The Department has no plans to change its clearance standard of 15 working days for Funeral Expenses Payments. The Department provides Funeral Expenses Payments to people who are arranging a funeral and who are in receipt of a qualifying income-related benefit. They make a significant contribution towards the cost of arranging a funeral, and are paid as swiftly as possible when all the necessary evidence has been provided. In most cases, payments are made directly to the funeral director who arranged the funeral.

Home Office

*No heading*

lord trefgarne: Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Metropolitan Police Service has sufficient funds to undertake its anti-terrorism operations; and what is their estimate of how much additional funding, if any, is required.

baroness williams of trafford: For reasons of national security we do not publically disclose the detailed allocation of funding for counter terrorism by force area or by capability. However, overall this Government has protected Counter-Terrorism police spend in real terms over the Spending Review period, and invested in counter-terrorism policing to grow key capabilities, including providing £144m to increase armed policing capability.We remain committed to increasing cross-government spending on counter-terrorism by 30%, from £11.7 billion to £15.1 billion, including funding an additional 1,900 officers at our security and intelligence agencies which reflects the changing nature of Counter Terrorism in the 21st Century.The Government has a constructive dialogue with policing to ensure that the right powers, capabilities and resources are in place.

*No heading*

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has produced any briefings on the anti-fracking protests at Preston New Road; and if so, whether they will publish those briefings.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has produced any briefings on the anti-fracking protests at Preston New Road; and if so, whether they will publish those briefings.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has been briefed by Lancashire Police on that force’s strategy for meeting its duty to both facilitate and protect rights to freedom of assembly.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has been briefed by Lancashire Police on the action which that force intends to take after the anti-fracking protests at Preston New Road have ended.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has been briefed by Lancashire Police on that force’s strategy for meeting its duty to both facilitate and protect rights to freedom of assembly.

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: Her Majesty's Government whether the Home Office has been briefed by Lancashire Police on the action which that force intends to take after the anti-fracking protests at Preston New Road have ended.

baroness williams of trafford: The management of protests, including anti-fracking protests, is an operational and independent matter for the police. The Home Office has not issued any guidance or briefings to the police on this matter.As lead Government Department for the national risk of public disorder, the Home Office routinely receives briefings from police forces on related issues.

*No heading*

the lord bishop of southwark: Her Majesty's Government what percentage of those allocated asylum places under the UK Syrian Vulnerable Persons scheme are religious minorities.

baroness williams of trafford: The refugees that we are bringing to the United Kingdom are very vulnerable people. Our prime concern is their safety and protection as they arrive in this country. We believe that one way to protect their privacy and ensure their recovery and integration is to limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available.In resettlement the UK works according to the humanitarian principles of impartiality and neutrality- which means that we do not take into consideration the ethno-religious origins of people requiring assistance as we resettle solely on the basis of needs, identified by UNHCR. We therefore do not believe it is appropriate to publish a religious and ethnic breakdown of those who have been resettled. Notwithstanding this the Home Office is committed to publishing data on arrivals in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

Department for International Trade

*No heading*

baroness hayter of kentish town: Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to convert EU Regulation 1035/2016 into UK law; and, if so, which UK body will assume the role of the European Commission for the investigation of under-pricing of vessels by foreign countries and the imposition of fines or other actions against relevant parties.

lord price: The Great Repeal Bill will provide legal certainty by converting the body of existing EU law into UK law, wherever practical and appropriate, at the point of exit.The Government will also establish, through legislation the essential tools we need to deliver the best international trading framework for the UK as we leave the European Union and in the future, including an effective Trade Remedies regime.